THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2006

COMING FRIDAY

HELLBOY ON CARTOON NETWORK

Cartoon Network will air the Hellboy: Sword of Storms animated movie on Saturday, Oct. 28, in time for Halloween and well before the Feb. 6 DVD release.

Supervising producer Tad Stones said that the network has been a great partner for the film, noting that Cartoon Network vice president of programming Terry Kalagian was able to quote Hellboy source material.

Stones also noted that the film probably won't have to change much for television.

"If standards and practices says we'll have to trim a scene, that's fine, we'll do it," Stones said. "But there will only be one version on the DVD and it will be the unedited cut."

Hellboy creator Mike Mignola noted that the animated universe stands on its own from the comic books or the live-action film.

"It's not radically different," Mignola said. "It's recognizable, but it's a little different, which I kind of like. It's nice to keep them different."

Stones added, "There were places to revisit scenes and stories that are in the comics in an entirely new context. I think that was the right call, because you get a new adventure and then at certain point you'll say, 'Hey, wait, I know that. I know that. I know where it's going to go.' Not so much. You'll get a surprise, too."

In other Hellboy animated notes:

* In the animated universe, Professor Broom is still alive.

* Tom Nelson, who was a director on HBO's Spawn series, did storyboards for the second movie.

* Below are images from Sword of Storms. Click on the thumbnails for larger images.

MARVEL STUDIOS UPDATE

Marvel Studios tentatively scheduled The Incredible Hulk for 2008 and named Zak Penn as writer of an Avengers movie on Thursday during its webcast.

Penn also wrote The Incredible Hulk script and also has worked with Marvel on X-Men: The Last Stand, X2 and Elektra.

Among the other highlights of the presentation:

* The Iron Man crew will include J. Michael Riva as production designer, John Nelson as visual effects supervisor and Michael Libatique as director of photography.

* The studio's official description of the Ant-Man movie: Small-time crook Scott Lang stumbles upon an old uniform once worn by the reclusive Dr. Henry Pym, aka Ant-Man. Now the troch is passed and an unlikely new hero is born.

* The studio's official description for Nick Fury, written by Andrew Marlowe: "Super-spy Nick Fury use high-tech equipment and a team of agents from the most powerful spy organization in the world to fight an evil group determined to send the world into chaos."

* A Teen Avengers animated project was also announced.

IMAGE COMICS FIRST LOOKS

For covers and five-page previews of Image Comics titles arriving in stores on August 16, CLICK HERE

DARK HORSE COMICS FIRST LOOKS

TRINITY BLOOD, BLEACH JOIN ADULT SWIM

Cartoon Network has announced two anime series, Trinity Blood and Bleach, that will join its Adult Swim late-night animation line-up on Saturdays beginning Sept. 9.

Trinity Blood, based on the serial novels by Sunao Yoshia, will air at midnight.

Here's how Cartoon Network describe the show.

"Trinity Blood is set in the future in a world rebuilt from the Armageddon that destroyed civilization 500 years prior. Now, new cities have been built in gothic styles, elaborate airships patrol the sky and it seems that peace and harmony reign. But underneath the surface, the threat of the war-seeking order of Rosen Kreuz looms. The vampires, once believed to be extinct, have risen again and brave defenders of humanity, now armed with advanced weaponry, hunt them at every turn."

Bleach will air following Trinity Blood at 12:30 a.m.

Here's how Cartoon Network describe the show:

"Born with the ability to see spirits, Kurosaki Ichigo is far from the average 15-year-old boy. But Ichigo's life becomes even more unusual when he and his family are attacked by a Hollow, a malevolent lost soul. They are aided by a Shinigami (Death God) named Kuchiki Rukia, who was sent to rid the world of tormented Hollows. But when Rukia is attacked by the Hollow, she is forced to transfer her powers to Ichigo. With these new powers, Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper, dedicated to maintaining the peace between the living world and the afterlife. Ichigo's life takes a drastic turn as he begins his training to protect the innocent and help tortured spirits find peace."

ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR PRESS CONFERENCE

At a telephone press conference on Thursday, writer Mike Carey said that he's taking Ultimate Fantastic Four in a completely different direction with "God War," the six-issue arc that begins in Ultimate Fantastic Four #33.

BRIEFLY

* SLG Publishing has announced that GloomCookie #28 will be the final issue of the series. After the publication of GloomCookie's fifth trade paperback, collecting #24-28, writer/co-creator Serena Valentino will continue to work on GloomCookie graphic novels with current artist Vincent Batignole.

"Issue 28 is the perfect place to end," said Valentino. "It ends this story arc but hints at the characters' futures."

"I've spoken to a lot of Serena's fans who say they wait for the trade," said SLG's editor-in-chief Jennifer de Guzman. "They're often not typical comic-book readers, and they prefer a perfect-bound book to a floppy."

COMICS CONTINUUM BACK ISSUES

In case you missed The Continuum's recent coverage, here are some links. Click on the date to get the day's full report.

* Saturday, August 5: Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, and from Wizard World Chicago: DC Universe, Civil War and Ultimate panels.

* Friday, August 4: Top Cow, DC Nation and Mondo Marvel panels at Wizard World Chicago, X-Men: The Last Stand DVDs, Hellboy sequel and Archie Comics First Looks.